Zoo hopes love will be in the air as new male arrives to help with breeding programme
The zoo says 'if you hear those distinctive vocalisations during your visit, that's a promising sign for our conservation efforts'
A male binturong has arrived at Paignton Zoo - sparking hopes for a conservation romance that could help safeguard a vulnerable species from extinction.
Carlo has made the journey from Frankfurt Zoo in Germany to his new Devon home, where he's currently settling into a specially modified enclosure.
Cindy Naylor, Senior Keeper of Mammals, said: "Visitors might be surprised by the loud, cat-like screams that could echo through this section of the zoo when Carlo and Fig are getting acquainted.
"It's actually one of the most reliable indicators that our breeding programme is progressing well. When binturongs are content, they purr much like household cats, but their mating calls are considerably more dramatic. If you hear those distinctive vocalisations during your visit, that's a promising sign for our conservation efforts.
"This potential power couple represents more than just a zoo pairing. Their match has been carefully orchestrated as part of the European breeding programme for binturongs, which face an uncertain future in the wild, classified as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
"The binturong defies conventional animal categories, with females typically larger than males – a biological quirk visitors may observe once the pair are formally introduced. Should romance flourish, Fig could produce up to six "binlets" after a 92-day gestation period. These newborns would emerge with closed eyes, hiding in their mother's fur during their vulnerable early days.
"Perhaps most remarkably, binturongs possess a reproductive adaptation called embryonic diapause – allowing females to delay the implantation of fertilised eggs until environmental conditions are favourable, a sophisticated evolutionary strategy that maximises offspring survival."